


The Long Road

by itislacey



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Anxiety, Father-Son Relationship, Irondad, Minor Character Death, Nightmares, PTSD, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Sadness, Spoilers, depending on how you see it, spiderson, there is some violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-05-31 13:27:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15120368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itislacey/pseuds/itislacey
Summary: In the aftermath that Thanos left behind, Tony Stark won't stop at anything to get the ones he lost back. Specifically, a certain Spider-Kid who didn't deserve to go.





	The Long Road

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, yes, the summary isn't as great as the story, but I didn't really know how to summarize it well. Anyway, I just want any of you who read this to keep in mind that this is a FANFIC. Not a published novel. There will probably be typos and plot holes, and I apologize, but I am no professional! I do hope you enjoy this :)

There were a lot of days where Tony Stark just wanted to give up. 

Following the weeks after Thanos’s win, it felt like no matter what he - or anyone - tried, the end result was always going to be the same. And that was there was no bringing back those who were wiped from existence after the snap of Thanos’s fingers.

The gauntlet had been a one time use, and even so, it disappeared along with Thanos, as did the Infinity Stones. Even if they  _ did  _ manage to get it back, they would need to repair it. And place all the stones in the correct spots. And there was no telling how long that would take - or if it was even possible to use them to undo what they once did.

But the only reason Tony kept pushing, kept  _ fighting,  _ was because he wasn’t going to give up on those he lost - the one he lost. 

Tony Stark had seen a lot of death in all his years of being on the Avenger’s Initiative, but none of those deaths hit him quite as hard as this one did. Which gave him all the more reason to  _ not  _ give up. 

“We could all sit around this table and give reasons as to why it was all our faults,” Natasha Romanov said one evening, when all the original Avengers had come together once again to discuss the aftermath of Thanos.

Tony had been surprised, to say the least, when he heard they were still alive. Most of them, anyway. Seeing Steve again . . . Along with Natasha and Thor . . . The feeling he got in his chest upon seeing them again was greater than anything he could have ever imagined. Even if he  _ was  _ still pissed at Steve. 

But this was greater than the incident in Germany. That had been a battle.

This was a war. 

“But the truth of the matter is that there is only  _ one  _ person to blame, and that is Thanos himself,” Natasha continued. “So whatever guilt trip we are all currently riding - cut it off. If we want to feel guilty, we can at least wait until we have everyone we lost back.” She leaned back in her chair, glancing around the rounded table at the other avengers. 

Everyone was grief stricken. Sad. Angry. There wasn’t a single person at the table to who hadn’t lost someone due to Thanos. And everyone here wanted to make him pay. 

“We don’t even know where Thanos went,” Steve said quietly, staring down at the table in front of him. “No one has seen him since he snapped his fingers. Thor and I were the last to see him. And that was all the way in the woods near Wakanda.” He highly doubted they were going to find Thanos here, in New York. 

“We saw him once and we will see him again,” Natasha said with more confidence than she felt. “He isn’t dead. At least we have that much to go on.” 

Tony slammed his fist on the table. “It doesn’t matter if he’s dead or alive. Do you know how many universes there are? How many he could  _ be  _ in? And how to you propose we travel to them? I may have some of the greatest technology in the world, but none of it is capable of traveling to other universes.” He was trying not to let anger seep into his words, but it was so hard not to after everything that had happened. He wouldn’t be content until they could reverse all of this.

Bruce Banner leaned forwards, glancing at Thor and then back at Tony. “Do you forget we have a God who can do just that?” 

Indeed. Tony had forgotten about Thor. But who could blame him? The God hadn’t been around for quite sometime now, too busy dealing with the fall of Asgard and his insane brother. “He may be able to travel between universes, but there’s still a lot to go to. Too many for one man to achieve. And since we can’t all just travel and spread out . . . What do you suggest we do?” His question was aimed at Bruce, who slouched in his seat a little.

“I don’t know, Tony,” Bruce admitted.

“I don’t think there is anything we  _ can  _ do,” Steve said, folding his arms across his chest. 

Tony glared at him. “Since when were you the one to give up? I thought you were Captain America. Not Negative Nancy.” 

Before Steve could refute, Natasha leaned forward and cut him off. “I know it seems impossible right now, but once we take a step in the right direction, we can do it. It could take some time, but that’s better than losing half the universe forever, don’t you think?” 

Of course she was right, but Steve was too blinded sided to let her words sink in. “How will we ever know if we are taking a step in the right direction? Until we spot Thanos with our own eyes, it’s all a guessing game. We may have time, but we don’t have a lot of it. Ad neither do those who died. What if it takes us years to get them back? What then? They all miss years of their lives?”

“For all we know,” Bruce butted in, “they could be the same age as they were when they . . . disappeared.

“Or they could have all aged,” Steve grumbled. 

“What does it matter to you, Rogers?” Tony snapped. “Your friend doesn’t seemed to have aged since the forties like you. What’s two or three more years on to seventy-four, when you don’t even  _ look  _ like you’re that old?” 

Steve scoffed. “That’s not the point of it, Tony. I don’t know who you lost that has your panties in a twist, but you’re not the only one who is grieving. So stop taking it out on everyone else here.”

“He has a point,” Clint chimed in, causing everyone to look over at him.

Tony nearly forgot he was here. He hadn’t said much this whole time, and even so, Tony hadn’t seen him since the events of Germany. 

“We don’t know who you lost, Tony,” Clint continued, “but Steve is right. You aren’t the only one. I lost half of my family. My wife . . . some of my kids. You don’t think it hurts knowing that if it takes years to get them back, that my kids may be aged when I see them again? I would have missed out on some milestones. And as a dad, that’s one of the worst things I could do to them. To myself.” 

Everyone at the table was speechless for quite some time. It was Tony who finally said, “The person I lost . . . will have missed plenty of . . . milestones due to a few years of aging.” He wasn’t going to outright say the kid’s name - even though they all knew him. But it was just that. The Avengers didn’t actually  _ know  _ the kid, they just knew  _ of  _ him. And by his vigilante name, that is. 

Natasha glanced at Tony, observing. “Is there something you’ve been hiding from the rest of us?” 

Tony knew exactly what she meant without asking. “No. That’s not - No.” 

“We all have secrets, Tony,” Bruce said. “And that’s fine. But if you think talking would help-”

“This is a war planning meeting. Not a therapy session,” Tony snapped. 

“Relax,” Natasha said, holding up a hand. “He was only trying to help.”

“And so far, this war planning meeting sucks,” Steve chimed in. “The only thing we’ve done is talk about our problems.” He glanced at the clock on the far wall. “For two hours. If we haven’t planned anything by now, then it doesn’t look like we will have a plan at all.” 

Nobody wanted to agree, but Steve was right. No one knew where to even  _ begin  _ reversing what Thanos did. The only place to start was with the man in question, and nobody had any idea where to even look for him.

Which is why Tony wanted to give up.

In a place full of infinite universes, how do you find  _ one  _ person? The only person Tony could think of that could help disappeared with the rest of the population, so that left him with nothing.

Or did it?

Shortly after the Avengers disbanded from the conference room in the compound, Tony got into one of his cars and drove to the city. If the one person he  _ knew  _ that could help disappeared with half the world, then maybe there were others like him who  _ didn’t  _ disappear. 

So he drove.

Surely Doctor Stephen Strange wasn’t the only wizard on Earth. Right?

~*~

The drive took longer than Tony had ideally wished for, but once he was parked on the ruined street he had been on once before (when all of this mess had started), he got out of his car and looked at the building in front of him. 

That same, large window took his mind back a few days to when it all began, and he hoped that this idea wouldn't fail him. Because if it did . . .

No. He refused to think about failing. 

Before he could even knock on the door, it swung open, revealing a man in robes, similar to the ones Stephen Strange wore - minus the red cape. 

“I don’t know, exactly, why you’re here, but I can take a pretty good guess,” the heavier man said. “And before you say anything, we have already tried. Locating spells and any other means of tracking - none of it works.”

“Even on Thanos?” Tony asked. He wondered if they were only searching for their missing doctor or if they tried the alien as well.

“Even on that bastard,” the man confirmed. 

Well, this was great. Tony’s only plan failed. He had no backups or any ideas. He let out a heavy sigh. He said he wasn’t going to give up, but now he understands where Rogers got it from so quickly. They really didn’t have any options to go on. “So now what?”

“I suppose the only thing we can do it wait,” the man replied.

“Wait for what? Thanos to appear? He did what he came here to do. Why in the hell would he come back? That ass hole is probably hiding away right about now, knowing everyone who wasn’t one of his “children” wants to kill him. He would be an idiot to ever show his face again.” Waiting wasn’t an option Tony was going to take.

“That he would,” the man agreed. “But unless you know where he might have gone, the only thing we  _ can  _ do is hope someone will spot him again.” 

Tony rolled his eyes as he scoffed. “Hope is dead. It went away when we let Thanos win.” 

“We didn’t  _ let  _ him win. He got the best of us. He had been planning this for  _ years,  _ Stark. We had all of one, maybe two days to try and stop him. He had better plans. More time to think about how to succeed. Two days of thinking can’t outdo years of planning easily.” 

Tony paced across the lobby. “I don’t have years to plan a way we can get everyone back. No one has that kind of time. No one living and no one . . . who disappeared.” He refused to say  _ dead.  _ People who died left bodied behind. No one who vanished from the snap of Thanos’s fingers left a body behind. Therefore they weren’t dead. 

“Then I suggest you get to planning, Stark,” the man said. “If anyone in this city can come up with the quickest plan to undo all of this shit, it’s probably you.” 

“I’ll try not to take that as an insult,” Tony said flatly. 

The man simply shrugged, having nothing else to say on this matter. Not until Tony turned to leave, anyway. “If you need help, Stark, don’t be afraid to ask for it. I want Stephen back as much as you want whoever you lost back.” 

Somehow, Tony doubted that. If he wanted Stephen back for a fraction of the person Tony wanted back, he would be trying harder. Instead, he was sitting in an abandoned building with a bunch of old relics, waiting for the solution to come to him.

And Tony knew better than anyone that answers didn’t just come from sitting and waiting.

~*~

Answers didn’t come for  _ weeks.  _

_ Months. _

Three months, to be exact. 

Every night, Tony stayed awake in his lab. He consumed more coffee than what anyone every should in their lifetime, but he couldn’t afford to sleep. Not now, maybe not ever. Not until he got the population back.

And now . . . Now he thought he may finally have his answers narrowed down. 

He thought back to fighting Thanos on Titan, as much as he wished he could forget it. He wrote down every word he could remember that Thanos had said to him. He analyzed every piece of land he mentioned - his home. The only thing he ever loved. All of it.

And he thinks that maybe, just  _ maybe,  _ he knows where that bastard might be hiding. 

He was able to skip the how he would get there part, knowing he could ask Thor to transport him there. But now he was stuck on the how he was going to take out Thanos once he saw him. 

If he saw him.

Tony knew Thanos didn’t have a working gauntlet anymore, meaning he could only use one stone at a time. And depending on which stone he chose to wield when fighting Tony (because, face it, a fight was coming), he may be able to take him down once and for all. As long as he had help.

And a lot of it.

The reason they failed last time, wasn’t because Thanos outsmarted them with years of planning. No, it was simply because he was too  _ powerful.  _ Being able to wield all the stones with the wiggle of a finger made him damn near unstoppable. 

But now that the gauntlet exceeded its one time use, he could only wield one stone at a time. 

Making it his greatest weakness.

And, sure, it took Tony everything he had packed into his Iron Man suit to even make the guy  _ bleed,  _ but that was when he was fighting solo. If he had backup like he did when they nearly pulled the gauntlet from his arm . . . Thanos could be incapacitated long enough to finish him off. 

Thor had said to go for the head - because that’s what Thanos had told him before snapping his fingers.

Tony wasn’t sure if any of this would even work, or if Thanos was even hiding on the planet Tony thought for him to be on, but this was the  _ only  _ possible option. And he would take this one thing over nothing. 

So he did what he never thought he would ever do again.

He assembled the Avengers.

~*~

“You honestly think this could work?” Steve asked. He sat back in his chair, looking a little worse for wear. The beard he had been sporting needed some cleaning up - that much was clear. Not to mention for someone who usually dresses so . . . polished and neat, his clothes were rather wrinkly and looked like they have been worn for multiple days now.

Tony could barely speak. He was pretty sure he had been wearing the same shirt and pants for a straight week now, and he couldn’t even remember the last time he showered. Being in the lab day and night took up all his time, and if this was the answer to getting the universe back, then it was a sacrifice he would make ten times over. 

If it meant getting the kid back . . . he would sacrifice everything. Anything. He told him he would be alright. He wasn’t going to let his last words to him be a lie.

“It’s the only plan anyone has formed with a chance of working,” Tony replied, collapsing in his chair. He closed his eyes for a moment. They stung from constantly being open and the sunlight streaming through the floor to ceiling windows didn’t help much, either. 

“What’s the percentage?” Clint asked, looking past Tony at his white board of notes.

“What?” Tony asked, opening his eyes.

“What’s the percentage of this working,” Clint clarified. “Is it less than one percent?”

Tony pressed his lips together. “No.”

“Is it even one percent?” Bruce asked this time. 

“It’s about thirty,” Tony answered, waiting for everyone to object. But when no objection came, he didn’t know how to feel. 

Clint stoof from his chair, placing both hands on the table. “Then let’s do it.” 

Natasha stood next, followed by Bruce and Thor.

“What more can I lose?” Thor said. “He killed my brother. It is only fair he dies in return.” 

Tony looked around the room, noticing that Steve still hadn’t said anything. He didn’t say a word to him, instead saying to the team, “You all know there is a high chance we won’t all make it out alive, right?” 

“If it means my kids can come back and live the lives they were supposed to have, then I don’t care,” Clint said with all seriousness. “They know I love them and would do anything for them. I know they will be fatherless but . . . At least they will remember who I was.”

_ I hope they remember you.  _

The words rattled around in Tony’s brain. The same one Thanos said to him when he stabbed him, fully intent on killing him. 

“If we pull this off,” Natasha said, “I think the whole world will remember who we are.” 

“I don’t care if I’m forgotten or not,” Steve said, finally looking up at the rest of the team. “I lost my friends. My  _ family.  _ I would die to get them back.” He looked over at Tony. “And I have a feeling you’re willing to do the same for the one you lost.”

Tony nodded once. “I know we all agreed to save the guilt trip until everyone is back, but it’s my fault he’s gone in the first place. I made a promise to him and myself that I . . .” Tony choked up. For the first time since losing the kid on Titan, his emotions were getting the best of him. “I said I would catch him. That he needed to trust me. And he did. He trusted me even after all this time . . . All the shit I said to him. And I let him down. And he had the nerve to apologize to  _ me  _ when he . . . when he was disappearing.” 

The room was silent. No one knew what to say.

“Who is he, Tony?” Natasha asked quietly. She had never known this man to care so deeply for someone in his entire life. He loved Pepper and cared for Happy, but other than those two, Tony Stark didn’t  _ care  _ for people. He didn’t love them. And since Pepper and Happy were still here, unaffected by the snap of Thanos’s fingers, whoever it was he lost in this war . . . He had to be pretty damn important for Tony to be willing to die for him. 

“He’s someone I wish I could be,” Tony answered. He let out a nervous laugh. “God. The only thing he ever talks about is wanting to be like me and I just . . . I’ll never understand why. He looks up to me and yet . . . I look up to him. It’s ridiculous.” He kicked his chair in frustration. 

“A lot of people look up to you, Tony,” Bruce said. “You’re a genius.” 

“Yeah, well, he doesn’t look up to me for  _ that  _ reason, I can assure you. He’s nearly as intelligent as me. And I don’t mean to brag on myself. Though it’s been a while since I have.” Hell, the kid built his own  _ web shooters.  _ He even made a formula on his own for them. With tools he used from dumpster diving, no less! With the right equipment provided to him . . . Tony was sure the kid could exceed his own level of genius and even outdo Stark Industries if he wanted. 

“It doesn’t matter who he is,” Steve said, standing up from his own chair. “As long as we get him back.” His eyes scanned the room, landing on Tony’s last. “I’m in.” 

~*~

The truth of it all is, Tony would have been perfectly content if he never had to see this ugly planet called Titan again. Everything here was so . . . lifeless, it made him sick.

Especially seeing the remains of the spaceship he had crashed when he arrived here the first time.

Thor had to transport everyone a few at a time, but it only took a matter of minutes to get everyone here. After their war planning meeting yesterday, everyone too the evening and night to prepare for the following day.

Steve has cleaned up his face, his beard neatly trimmed. He wore his old Captain America uniform, because apparently, wearing a uniform was the only way one could fight in a war, or so he says. 

Tony took the night to actually  _ sleep,  _ though it wasn’t much. He allowed himself five hours of sleep before he woke up to make sure his Iron Man suit had everything he might possibly need, including heavier arsenal than he had last time. Really all he did was increase the firepower to what was already there, because he didn’t have time to build a new suit with new weapons. 

“You think he’s here?” Natasha asked, looking around in distaste. “This place is in ruins.” 

“This place was once his home,” Tony supplied, looking around as well. He couldn’t stop his eyes from landing on the very spot he last saw his kd -  _ the kid -  _ in. The dust had long blown away, and he was silently grateful for that. 

“It doesn’t look like it can even sustain life anymore,” Bruce commented. 

Tony winced at his choice of words, otherwise not letting it show how this place made him really feel. “He can alter it to look how he wants it to. With the stones, that is. The Reality Stone in specific, I think.” His knowledge on each of the stones and their specific abilities were limited. They were all a pain in his ass. “He showed us how it once was. I imagine wherever he is right now, it looks a hell of a lot better than this.”  

“I would hope so,” Bruce commented. “Who would want to live in the ruins of their own home?” 

“The man is a psychopath,” Steve said. “I wouldn’t put it past him.” 

“Let’s just start searching, okay?” Natasha spoke up. “We’re here, so we might as well not waste more time.” A few months was enough. 

Everyone agreed, and began walking away from the crash site. Tony let his faceplate cover his face, asking Friday to scan for any heat signatures in a five mile radius. He hoped they wouldn’t need to walk that long, being that he had no clue how big this planet actually was, and if it was anything close to Earth, they may never find Thanos.

He didn’t want to think about that.

“What actually happened here, Stark?” Steve asked, stepping over some rubble. 

“Enough,” Tony answered vaguely

Steve glanced over at him. “We all have things we wish to forget, and I understand not wanting to talk about this place, but a little backstory might help.” 

“There is no backstory that needs to be told,” Tony replied. “This was one Thanos’s home. That’s all you need to know.” 

“Why is it empty of people?” Steve persisted. 

“I don’t know. Why don’t you take Thanos out for tea and chat about it with him?” 

“Enough,” Natasha cut in. “If I would have known all this time would be spent stopping a fight between you two, then I would have gone solo.” 

Bruce stepped up beside Natasha. “Going solo here is a bad idea. We all need to stick together.” 

Steve grunted. “I was only trying to understand more of what happened. And we have plenty of time to talk.” 

Tony let the faceplate of his suit pull back. “Why are you choosing now to talk? You haven’t wanted to talk in a good few months.”

“That’s because I was in hiding.” 

“You had a cellphone. It could have been used at any time,” Tony countered.

“Yes, but it could also be tracked the one time I used it,” Steve replied. “You know that.” 

He was right, of course. Tony  _ did  _ know that. And what Tony also knew was that he was the reason they didn’t talk for months. He may not be able to fully take the blame - everyone made poor decisions that day - but he was a big part of the reason why half of the Avengers don’t speak to one another anymore. Not until lately, that is. 

As they kept walking in silence, Steve couldn’t help but ask, “Why don’t you want to tell anyone who the person you lost is?”

Truthfully, Tony didn’t want anyone knowing about the kid. The more who knew about him, the more danger he could be in. Not necessarily from the Avengers, but sometimes it pays to know people. Whether it’s a good or bad payment. “He will be more at risk if more people know about him.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Steve asked.

“Nothing against you,” Tony said quickly before the man got all defensive. “Or anyone here,” he added. “He’s just . . . a sensitive topic.” The Avengers already knew about the kid, but they didn’t know  _ the  _ kid. They knew . . . Spider-Man. And Tony wasn’t sure how everyone here would feel if he told them who the kid was. Spider-Man did fight against half of these people, after all. 

“You do realize if this works, we will find out who he is when he comes back,” Natasha piped up. “It would be nice to have a heads up about him when the world starts coming back.”

“Why would you need a heads up about him?” Tony asked. Frankly he just thought Natasha was being nosy. “He’s not a threat to you.”

“We won’t know that unless you tell us who he is,” she replied.

Tony paused and turned towards her. “You think he’s going to come back from the  _ dead  _ and go guns blazing at you? Is that what you’re saying to me?” 

Natasha shrugged. “I’m saying I want to know who our friends and foes are.”

Tony scoffed. “He is far from your foe, trust me. And nothing about him screams ‘enemy’ either. If you look at him and think that, you need a new set of eyes.” If any of these people knew what the kid thought about them . . . They would never once in their lives ever question if he was an enemy. The kid talked about the Avengers like a six year old would talk about Christmas morning. He completely lights up when talking about them, and as annoying as Tony sometimes found it, he couldn’t help but also finding it endearing. He hoped that when the kid came back, he would be the same as he was before. Excited and annoying about  _ everything.  _

“So, not intimidating and young,” Natasha remarked. “I’m beginning to think you  _ did  _ lie and you do have a kid.” 

“I don’t have a kid,” Tony grumbled. Not a biological one, anyway. Even so, if the kid was, well, his  _ kid,  _ he wouldn’t have any problem stating as much. Anyone would be proud to have that kid as a son. Tony included. 

“There’s nothing wrong with having children, you know!” Clint called from the back of the group. “They make life more entertaining!” 

Tony could agree on that much, though he would never say it aloud.

“That’s because you have, like, ten,” Bruce said.

“I do not have ten children,” Clint said, clicking his tongue. “Though, so what if I did? The more the merrier.” 

“Only you would think that,” Bruce told him.

Steve stopped abruptly in the front of the group, holding up a hand to silence everyone. “I hear something.”

Tony reingaged his faceplate, firing up his equipment just in case. “Friday, do you detect anything?” 

_ “Negative, boss. I can’t seem to get a reading on anything.” _

“What do you hear, Rogers?” Tony asked. 

“It sounds like . . . a child laughing?” 

Tony turned towards Steve. “Do you realize how little sense that makes right now? Why would there be children here?”

“I understand that sounds ridiculous, but that’s what I’m hearing. Feel free to blast into the air and look around.”

“I think I will.” Tony engaged his thrusters, soaring high into the air to get a birds eye view. He looked all around, about to say through the coms that he could see nothing, when a tiny speck caught his eye in the distance. Actually, make that two specks. “There’s something on the horizon,” he told the team. “I can’t make out what it is.”

“A child, from what Steve is claiming,” Natasha informed.

“Well, there’s two somethings, so if one is a child, then what’s the other thing?” Tony asked. He landed back on the ground, facing the team.

“I don’t know,” Steve said. “But I think we should go find out.”

~*~

At least it didn’t take miles and miles to find a sign of what they were looking for. Tony had no idea what he would do if it took more than a day of searching this desolate planet. He thought the New York air was polluted and smoggy, but the air on Titan was even worse. So much so, everything was set in a constant golden haze. 

The Avengers all crouched behind some ruins, peering out into the distance. It turns out Steve wasn’t wrong about hearing a child laughing. 

A girl, who couldn’t have been more than five years old, with green skin and purple colored hair, skipped aimlessly around in circles, giggling like she was having the time of her life. 

“Do you know who that is?” Steve whispered to Tony. 

“No. Why would I?” 

“You were on this planet,” Steve reminded in a harsh whisper. “Maybe you saw her.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t.” He would have remembered a girl who looked like that. “There were no children wherever I was.”

“Except the one you lost,” Natasha said, one eyebrow raised.

Tony tried not to let his blood boil. “The kid isn’t five. He’s a kid but barely a kid.”

“So a teen,” Natasha mused. “Or somewhere in there.”

“Now is not the time to talk about Tony’s mysterious kid,” Bruce snapped. “If we are going to talk about kids, it’s going to be about the one fifty feet away.” 

Everyone’s gaze landed back on the giggling girl in front of them, who tripped over a rock and fell to her knees. The giggling stopped immediately. 

“Ow,” she said in a small voice.

“Now, now, little one. You’re okay,” a deep voice said. A deep voice that cut through the air, settling deep into everyone’s bones. 

“Thanos,” Thor all but growled, startling the shit out of everyone. The God had been so quiet this whole time, it was like he wasn’t even here. “He will pay for what he did.” Thor went to stand, but was grabbed by two sets of arms.

“No, wait,” Bruce instructed. “We can’t just charge in there.”

“Why the hell not?” Thor asked. “He is right there. In the open. Vulnerable.”

“There is also a child there,” Steve pointed out. “We are here for Thanos, not the little girl.”

“So keep her out of my way,” Thor instructed, going to stand up again.

“Stop,” Tony ordered. “We can’t even  _ see  _ Thanos. How do you know he is vulnerable? He could be equipped.” There’s no way he wouldn’t be. 

Thor shrugged. “I do not care. We can get the jump on him so we need to take it.”

“Not if you don’t keep your voice down,” Natasha said harshly. “Are you trying to get us found?” 

“It would make starting this a lot easier,” Thor replied.

Tony huffed out an annoyed sigh. “We all want to be the one who detaches his head from his body, but be rational, Thor. I know common sense isn’t your strong suit-”

“You are correct, but lightning is,” Thor interrupted, summoning loud claps of thunder and lightning strikes.

The little girl in front of them screeched, quickly being snatched away by a large set of hands. 

“Thanos!” Thor roared, leaping high into the air.

“It’s now or never,” Steve said to the rest of the team, standing up and leaping over the rubble to join the fight. 

Natasha followed, while Clint took the high ground, drawing his bow at the ready. 

“If Hulk can be of use, Bruce,” Tony said, looking at him one last time, “then let him loose.” He blasted into the sky, firing up his rockets. 

“If anyone has an opening,” Steve said into the coms, “then take it.” 

“What about the girl?” Natasha asked.

“Hope she doesn’t get in the way,” Steve answered.

That surprised the hell out of Tony. Steve was a peacemaker. He never wanted casualties if he could help it, and the fact that he just dismissed the girl so plainly . . . Tony was a little concerned, to say the least. 

Thunder boomed across the sky, rattling the very ground they were standing on. Lighting struck the ground, scorching every spot it touched. 

“I hope Thor has control over those things!” Tony said. He really didn’t feel like being struck by lightning. 

Thanos suddenly appeared, having hidden the girl he was playing with away. Anger rested on his face as he raised his fist, swinging at anyone who dared get near him. He pulled out a green stone from the sack on his belt, aiming it at the avengers who were on the attack.

“Don’t let him use it!” Natasha screamed.

Tony aimed one of his rockets directly at the stone, firing it quickly. He knew the rocket would only hurt Thanos at best, but he couldn’t allow him to use the Time Stone and set them back. They couldn’t afford any more setbacks. So he aimed to disarm.

The rocket exploded into Thanos’s hand, knocking the Time Stone through the air away from him. He screamed out in rage or pain - Tony wasn’t sure, as he reached into the pouch for another stone. 

“If we can just get all the stones away from him, we could end this easily,” Steve said, throwing his shield directly at Thanos. It rochicheted right off of him, returning to Steve’s arm. 

“Well, in that case, five more to go,” Tony said, unloading another rocket into Thanos. 

Arrows flew through the air, which could only mean Clint was unloading his whole arsenal into Thanos, trying to incapacitate him enough for the others to get in close. 

Tony felt as if they were doing remarkably well, all things considered, but he didn’t let his arrogance get the best of him yet. Their only advantage was catching him off guard. Otherwise, he could have had the stones prepared.

“I’ve picked up the Time Stone!” Natasha announced, running quickly through the battlefield.

“He still has the others,” Steve informed. “I don’t know which one he currently has.” 

“Does it matter?” Tony asked, firing rocket after rocket into the enemy. “Just get them off of him!” 

Thunder rolled again, this time, followed by a bright lightning strike than landed directly in front of Thanos. Thor appeared where the lightning hit, and he stared the man down, holding his axe in his hand.

All firing stopped - even from Thanos.

“Do you think you can reverse what has been done?” Thanos asked, surprisingly calm. “Your brother is dead, God of Thunder. He is not coming back.” 

Thor breathed heavily through his nose. “I know.” 

“So you think killing me will avenge him? That you will feel good once I’m dead?”

“I know of many people who will feel good once you are dead,” Thor said menacingly. “Myself included.” 

“You can kill me,” Thanos said. “But it will not bring back those who have fallen. They are gone.” 

No one moved. Tony remained hovering in the air, listening to the words Thanos was speaking. He didn’t believe him for a second. Maybe killing Thanos wouldn’t reverse what he had done, but there had to be a way to get them back. They could use the stones. Rewind time. See the future - anything. Those stones were the key to getting everyone back. Tony knew it. 

“And everyone who turned to dust?” Steve asked. “Where did they go?”

The words struck a chord in Thor from the first time they faced Thanos.

_ Where did he go? Where did he go, Thor? _

“They cease to exist,” Thanos replied. “Like I said once before.” 

“No one believes you,” Natasha said. “People don’t just vanish. They went somewhere.”

“If they did, I do not know where,” Thanos informed. “That is what you Earthlings call religion, is it not?” 

Tony landed hard on the ground, his faceplate retracting. “Give us the stones.” He was tired of waiting.

“They will not bring back your loved ones, Stark.”

“Then you should have no problem giving them to me anyway.” Tony stepped forward until he was standing next to Thor, who had a firm grip on his axe. 

Thanos chuckled. “These stones are precious. When in the wrong hands . . .”

“They’ve been in the wrong hands since you touched them,” Steve snapped. “Give them to us or we will take them off your cold, dead body.”

A smile turned up on Thanos’s lips. “You are going to kill me anyway. Why not take them then?” 

Thor lunged forward, gripping Thanos by his throat. “Because we want to watch you hand over the only things that make you strong. Without them, you are nothing.” He pulled back his other arm that held the axe, ready to strike. “At least this time I know to aim for the head.” With a swift motion he swung the axe towards Thanos, the blade swiping clean through his neck.

Tony looked away before he could witness it, not wanting to add another image for his mind to conjure up when he finally went back to having a sleep schedule. The sound it made, however, could not be erased from his mind.

Thanos’s head hit the ground with a slick thump, followed by the rest of his body. Blood had sprayed all over Thor’s armor and face, right along with Tony’s.

Thor reached down, snatching the pouch off of Thanos’s waist. He remained silent, as did everyone else, when he thrust the pouch into Tony’s chest. 

Tony grabbed the pouch with his hands, feeling the weight of the stones inside. He opened the top, peering down into it, counting four. Natasha had the Time Stone, so that made five. “Where’s the one he was holding?” 

Everyone looked around, not seeing it.

Thor kicked Thanon’s body over, revealing that he had fallen on top of the red stone. “There.” He picked it up, uncaring that it was covered in dirt and blood. “Are they all accounted for?”

“They are now,” Tony replied. He held out his palm, dumping all the stones into his hand. To anyone else, they would look like a bunch of colorful rocks. But to the Avengers, it was the whole universe. 

Everyone gathered around Tony, looking at the stones.

“Now what?” Steve asked. “How do we get everyone back? Do we . . . rewind time?”

Tony looked up at him. “Rewinding time won’t do us any good. It will just make us repeat the events of a few months ago over and over again unless we kill Thanos back then. But if we couldn’t do it then, we couldn’t do it no matter how many times we went back and tried.” 

“Then what do you suggest?” Natasha asked. “Thanos said they were gone-”

“And you believe him?” Tony interrupted. “He’s a psychopath with family issues. He doesn’t know what it’s like to love.” 

“He must,” Thor said, breaking his silence. “Or else he would have never been able to obtain the Soul Stone in the first place.”

“What do you mean?” Steve asked, shifting his weight to his other leg. 

“The Soul Stone can only be acquired by sacrificing a life for a life. Specifically, of someone you love. Or else anyone could just toss someone over a cliff and wield the stone.”

Steve looked at him blankly. “Who the hell could he have loved enough to sacrifice? And what kind of sacrifice is that?” 

Thor only shrugged. “The Soul Stone is the most powerful of stones. I am unsure of how it works, but I know that it can only be wielded by someone who is strong enough to make that sacrifice. Otherwise, like I said, anyone can use it.” 

“So the only way we can use it is if one of us sacrifices someone we love?” Tony asked, clutching the stones in his hand. This was ridiculous.

“Hold on,” Natasha said. “We don’t even really know  _ what  _ the stone does. Let’s not sacrifice anyone until we think it can be the key to undoing whatever Thanos did the first time.” 

“It is the key,” a tiny voice squeaked, causing everyone’s heads to turn in the direction of the sound. 

The little girl from earlier stood behind a large rock, peeking out from the side of it. Her purple hair fell into her eyes. 

“Care to repeat that?” Tony asked, which earned him a smack on the arm from Natasha. 

“It is the key,” the little girl said, stepping out from behind the rock completely. “Everyone is in there.”

Natasha stepped forward, deciding that Tony shouldn’t be the one to talk to her anymore. Children weren’t his forte. “What do you mean, sweetie?” 

“It’s the Soul Stone,” she stated. “All the souls are in there.”

“So how do we get them out?” Steve asked impatiently. 

“The stone needs to be wielded by someone who lost a love. Like Thanos.” 

“Yeah, speaking of,” Clint chimed in, strapping his bow to his back, “who did Thanos sacrifice? No offence.”

The little girl looked up at him curiously. “Me.”

“But you’re not dead,” Clint pointed out. 

“I am,” she assured. “The older me. Adult me.” 

Tony was confused. “How are you here if your adult self is dead?”

Natasha glared at Tony. “You really don’t know how to talk to kids, do you?” 

“She seems to comprehend what I’m saying to her just fine. And I’ve had some practice,” Tony informed.

“Talking to a teenager is not the same as a small child,” Natasha chided, frowning.

With his - the - kid, it often felt like it. But she didn’t need to know that. None of them did. 

The little girl shrugged. “I don’t know how it works. I just know it does. One of you needs to sacrifice someone you love if you want everyone to come back. That’s the only way.” She kicked at the dirt on the ground, growing antsy. 

The Avengers looked at each other nervously. How were they to decide who was going to make that sacrifice? That wasn’t fair. In order to bring back the ones they loved, someone was still going to have to lose someone else they loved, anyway. 

“I have lost everyone,” Thor said to the group. “I do not have anyone left to give.” His father and brother were gone, and Jane was out of the question - even though they weren’t a couple anymore. Even then, Thor would never sacrifice her short, human life this way.

“The people I love are all in the stone,” Steve said. “Or already dead.” 

“We shouldn’t even be having this conversation,” Tony snapped. “This is absurd. No one here is sacrificing anyone.”

“Then you won’t get anyone out of that stone,” the little girl said.

Tony had the urge to yell at the girl, but he refrained. It wasn’t her fault half the world was trapped inside that stone. He was just mad and needed to vent anger.

Surely there had to be another way to use it. Hell, the only thing they wanted to use it for was to get everyone that had disappeared, out of there. They weren’t trying to trap more souls inside or wield it for evil like Thanos. Maybe there was an exception.

“Thanos said only the ones with the strongest wills can survive,” the girl informed them. “Only those who can make hard decisions can truly live.”

Tony disagreed. “This is someone’s  _ life!  _ We are talking murder here.” 

Natasha shot another look at Tony. 

“Don’t give me that look,” Tony snapped at her. “She just witnessed us kill Thanos like it was nothing. She knows about murder.”

“Yes, and I’m sure she’s scarred for life,” Natasha hissed. “Still, take it easy.”

“I’ll do it,” Bruce said from behind the group.

Everyone turned to look at him. 

“Do what?” Steve asked.

“Give my life. For the stone,” Bruce clarified.

Natasha gaped at him. “What? No, you’re not giving your life. That’s not how it works anyway. You can’t sacrifice yourself. Someone has to sacrifice you and  _ they  _ wield the stone.” She couldn’t believe what he was saying.  

“Then you sacrifice me, Nat,” Bruce said quietly, stepping up to stand in front of her. “I’ll be okay.”

Natasha shook her head. “I’m not killing you, Bruce. I won’t.”

“It’s not killing me if I  _ want  _ it.” 

“It’s suicidal!” she barked. “I thought you were past this, Bruce. You and Hulk . . .” She shook her head. “God. No. I can’t.” 

Bruce smiled softly at her. “I know I tried to end it all once before because I hated what I had become, but even now . . . I just hate myself less. I don’t like having two versions of me. For Christ’s sake, the Hulk took over for two years! He didn’t let me out and I didnt even realize it until Thor was able to get me back and told me. I’m okay with this,” he added. “If I didn’t want to do it, then I wouldn’t have offered.” 

“There’s no coming back,” she whispered, tears stinging her eyes. Natasha Romanov had cried very few times in the last decade, but the cost of this war was finally catching up to her. First she lost Wanda and Bucky . . . Now she was losing Bruce. But whereas the others could come back, Bruce couldn’t. 

“I know,” Bruce answered. He glanced over her shoulder at the rest of the group, namely Tony. “And I still don’t know who Tony lost, but whoever it was is really young. He deserves to  _ live,  _ Nat. Whoever he is. And what about Clint? He lost half of his kids. They deserve to live, too. I’ve already lived. For quite a few decades. I’ve experienced life. Love. Loss. This won’t hurt me.” 

“It’ll hurt me,” Natasha said. “It’ll hurt them.” She glanced over her shoulder at the others who remained watching in silence.

“That’s what war does to people,” Bruce replied. “It is not kind.” 

Steve stepped forward, standing beside Natasha and Bruce. “You don’t have to do this,” Steve told Bruce. “We can find another way.”

“We both know this is the  _ only  _ way. If there was another way, Thanos would have done it. You really think he wanted to kill the only thing he loved?”

“Well, he did,” Tony said. 

“Because it was the only way,” Bruce repeated. “I’m doing this. And I’m sorry, Nat, but it has to be you.” 

“You’re implying I’m the only one who loves you,” Natasha sniffled. 

Bruce shrugged. “As far as I know, you’re the only one.” he reached out slowly and pulled her into a hug, unsure if this was okay. Natasha didn’t hug people. Or show any affection, really. She was a hardcore spy who was trained to have a heart of stone. But it was clear some of that has chiseled away over the years. 

“That’s not true,” Steve said, clapping Bruce on the back.

Bruce laughed. “You have a big heart, Captain. And you’re capable of loving just about everyone.” 

Tony watched silently from a distance alongside Thor and Clint. This was all a little too sappy for him, but that’s mainly because he doesn’t do goodbyes. He doesn’t get close to anyone and this is exactly why. Getting close to the kid had been a mistake, and losing him ripped his heart into shreds. But what’s done is done. He would say bye to Bruce, but it wouldn’t be tearful and heartfelt like Cap and Natasha. 

He glanced over at Thor, whose face was still set in a fiery rage. “Are you okay?” Tony asked him.

Thor looked down at Tony. “No.”

If there was one thing Tony appreciated about the God, it was that he was always truthful. “What’s wrong?” 

“I thought killing Thanos would bring me some sort of peace. I avenged Loki, yes, but other than that, I still feel nothing.” Thor crossed his arms over his broad chest. “What am I to do now that I accomplished my goal? My brother and father are dead, my home is gone, and I have no one else to turn to. Banner is leaving now and the Hulk with him.”

Tony furrowed his brows. “I didn’t know you and Banner were close.” 

“We bonded on Sakaar, I’d like to say. We escaped that planet together. He helped me with Hela. I felt like I was the one who lost more than anyone else.” 

Tony wasn’t sure what to say. He had never been good at giving advice or consoling those in distress - not even the kid. All he typically did was scold him and tell him what not to do. Though, he had praised the kid two times and that had been difficult enough. And that was just telling him good work. Thor has lost just about everyone he loves  _ and  _ his home. What was Tony supposed to say to that?

“Sorry to have bothered you. The rabbit listened to me once but . . . I have not seen him in some time.” 

Tony had no clue what he was talking about, so he left it at that. 

“So how does this work?” Thor asked the little girl near him. 

 

Tony had forgotten she was there.

“They will have to go to Vormir,” the girl said. “And She will have to throw the man off the ledge there before the Soul Stone can be used.” 

“I have never hear of such a place,” Thor stated.

“Neither have I,” Tony agreed.

“Only the Red Skull guy lives there. It’s very secluded,” The girl explained.

Tony and Thor studied her and looked at one another. This girl was awfully young to know so much about the Soul Stone and where it’s kept and how it works. 

“Who  _ are  _ you?” Tony asked her.

The girl smiled. “My name is Gamora.” 

~*~

Even as Tony and Thor said their goodbyes to Bruce, the two couldn’t help but look at the little girl with more caution. Tony had only heard of Gamora and knew she was the reason for Peter Quill’s freak out that cost them the gauntlet when they fought Thanos the first time. Thor, however, had met her for a brief period of time aboard the Guardians ship, apparently, before setting off on his own journey with this so called rabbit. 

“You said she was an adult,” Tony whispered harshly to Thor.

“She was! Last time I saw her.”

“That clearly is not an adult,” Tony fired back. 

Thor shrugged. “She said her adult self is dead.”

“Then how can she be here? Thanos can’t rewind time on a specific person, can he?” If the Time Stone was truly capable of that, then it never needed to leave the hands of Stephen Strange ever again. Even though he was the one who handed it over in the first place, it was only to save Tony’s life. And Tony was going to make sure damn good and well that Strange never did something like that again - seeing the future or no. They were going to learn from this.

“I do not know how that specific stone works,” Thor informed. “I am sorry.” 

Tony waved him off. He can’t expect the guy to know everything. “When the deed is . . . done, how do you think everyone will come back?” He decided to change the topic, even if it wasn’t much better than the one they were just on.

Thor fiddled with the handle of his axe. “What do you mean?”

“Do you think they’ll re-appear where they disappeared? Or do you think they’ll re-appear back where they live?” Tony didn’t like the idea of staying on Titan longer than necessary, even though they were sitting idly here now.

Thor had transported Natasha and Bruce to Vormir after tearful goodbyes, and he came right back here, saying that he had seen enough death to last him eternity. “It is hard to say,” Thor answered. “If your . . . human re-appears here, I will transport you two back to Earth. Do not worry.” 

That wasn’t what Tony was worried about. Seeing this planet was enough to bring back God awful memories, and if he could keep the kid from seeing this place ever again, he would do whatever it took. There was no doubt the kid would probably have nightmares of the events that unfolded before the Soul Stone took him away, but if Tony could lessen the images in the kid’s mind, he would do it. 

“What if they re-appear on Earth and we’re here?” Tony asked instead. His mind was wandering, which was dangerous for everyone.

“It will only take seconds to get back to Earth, Stark. Quit worrying so much.” 

It was Tony’s job to worry. That’s all he ever did anymore. Aside from running Stark Industries, worrying was a full time job. Especially when it came to the kid. “I feel like the only thing I’m capable of is worrying.” With the exception of a few months ago when they fought Thanos the first time. When he lost the kid . . . It was grief like he never felt before. 

“I know the feeling,” Thor said. “It is unpleasant.” 

Tony stood up from the rock they had been sitting on and began to pace. “I don’t know how much longer I can just sit here and wait.” 

“We have been waiting for months,” Thor reminded him. “A few more minutes or hours won’t be so bad.” 

He was right. It wasn’t bad. It was horrible. “I only care about three things in this world, Thor, and this is one of them. I . . . I failed that kid. What happened to him is on me, and the guilt has been eating away at me since the day he vanished.” The sleepless nights, the sudden increase in anxiety. He hated to say it, but the only sort of relief he had during that time was knowing he wouldn’t have to break the news of the kid’s disappearance to his attractive aunt, because she had vanished, too. Tony wasn’t sure if he could have ever looked her in the eyes as he said her kid was gone. 

“It wasn’t your fault,” Thor said, watching the man pace. “The selection was random.” 

“It’s my fault he was involved in any of this. He’s too young to even be . . .” To be Spider-Man. 

“Even if you were not involved in his life, he still would have disappeared, Stark. Just not on this wasteland of a planet.” 

Maybe that was true. Maybe it wasn’t. Either way, Tony would never know for sure.

The rest of the Avengers sat further away from Tony and Thor, talking about their own concerns and issues. They had been working together these past few months to get everyone they lost back, but nothing had been completely mended after the events in Germany. Everyone was still distant, which was to be expected, for the most part. Just like Rome wasn’t built in a day, forgiveness didn’t take effect that quickly, either.

“What the hell?” a new voice groaned, causing everyone to stand up and have their weapons at the ready. 

A head popped up from behind a piece of metal, which Tony immediately recognized as, “Starlord?” 

“You know him too?” Thor asked, relaxing his stance a little.

“Yeah, he tried to kill my kid,” Tony explained.  _ And was the reason we failed the first time around,  _ he silently added.

“I thought he wasn’t your kid?” Clint said from a few feet away, lowering his bow.

Tony rolled his eyes. “Forget it.” He wasn’t trying to launch into some explanation about the kid again. It was evident no one was going to believe him anyway. 

“I have a massive headache,” Starlord said, leaning against the hunk of metal. “What is going on?” 

“You don’t remember?” Tony asked curiously. 

“If I did, I wouldn’t have asked what was going on,” Starlord scoffed.

“I forgot how much of a joy you were to be around.” Tony was letting Starlord be the distraction he needed until the kid re-appeared. It was clear now that Natasha and Bruce did what they set out to do, and Tony couldn’t help but feel a pang in his chest in knowing that Banner was really gone. He really did this for everyone. Tony was going to make sure what he did was not forgotten. By anyone, ever.

Starlord stood up, shaky on his feet. “Where is the rest of my family?” 

“I would guess close behind,” Tony said. “You are the first to re-appear.”

“Re-appear?” Starlord repeated. “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

Steve looked over at Tony. “This should be fun. Explaining to everyone what happened.” 

“I don’t think everyone will ask,” Clint said. “If they were just going about their normal lives and disappeared and came back, maybe they’ll just be confused and not question it too deeply.”

A skeptical look passed over Steve’s face. “What about everyone who remained here? They’ll surely tell those who disappeared what happened.”

“But they won’t be able to explain it,” Steve pointed out. “We know about Thanos and the stones and the result of him having the stones. All everyone else knows is just that . . . they disappeared in the middle of the day for no reason.” 

“Let the government handle it then. Since they’re so adamant about controlling everything and everyone.”

Tony could get behind that. He ignored the rest of their bickering, his eyes constantly scanning for the kid’s familiar face. Within a few minutes, Mantis had come back, along with Drax.

But still no kid.

“He will turn up,” Thor said, bumping Tony’s shoulder. “And then I will take you back to Earth.” 

“Speaking of,” Steve piped up, “I need to get back to Wakanda. Bucky will turn up there. And so will Wanda and Sam.” 

Starlord talked to Mantis and Drax, recounting what had happened from the story Tony and Steve told him. He was feeling less dizzy and stronger on his legs, and he noticed his friends were also feeling the same. Apparently being trapped in the Soul Stone affected them physically.

Tony paced around, wondering if the kid would show up here or somewhere else out of eyesight. But if the other guardians returned here, the kid should, too. It only made sense. 

Everyone’s idle chatter was cut off by the sound of someone vomiting their guts up. 

“What the hell?” Starlord exclaimed. “Who’s sick?” 

Tony looked around, blasting off the ground to get a higher viewpoint when he spotted him.

The kid.

He thrusted over to where the kid was hurling, landing with a loud clang behind him. He saw the kid jump, and instantly regretted not giving him more of a warning. But he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. 

The kid. Alive.

“Oh, God,” the kid groaned, hurling up the last of whatever was in his stomach. He collapsed onto the ground, rolling onto his back. He squint against the harsh light of Titan, eyes focusing on the face that hovered over him.

“Kid?” Tony asked nervously.

The kid furrowed his brows before finally seeing who he was looking at. “Mr. Stark?” 

Tony couldn’t help it when he fell to the ground beside the kid, letting out the biggest breath in his entire existence. He couldn’t help the laugh that escaped his throat. He couldn’t help it when he pulled the kid to him and hugged him for real for the first time ever. 

The kid groaned in his arms. “I haven’t vomit like that since I had the flu in eighth grade.” 

“I thought you didn’t get sick anymore?” Tony asked, brows raised as he let go of the kid. And it had only been maybe two minutes of the kid being back for Tony to worry about him again. 

“I don’t,” the kid said. “But I guess dying and resurrecting does something to the body.” He gave Tony a tired smile.

“You remember?” Tony asked in horror. “No one else does.”

“Yeah, well, no one else is Spider-Man,” he reminded. “With Spidey Senses.” 

_ “This  _ is the kid you were tearing the world apart for?!” Steve asked in shock. “Spider-Man!?” 

The kid stared at Captain America in awe. Last time he saw him, they weren’t on friendly terms. Or any terms, really. “Oh my God.” 

Tony rested a hand on the kid’s back. “Yes, Spider-Man. Or as most people call him, Peter.” He glanced at the boy in question, still horrified that he  _ remembered.  _ Of course he couldn’t have been gifted like everyone else and not remember. Not only did he feel himself . . .  _ die,  _ but he felt himself coming back, too. And he remembered it all. They were definitely going to talk about this later. Or Tony was going to get the kid a therapist. Something. Anything. He was too young to let all of this hurt him now. 

“Spider-Man is a kid!?” Steve was still in shock. “He almost . . . He handed my ass to me a few times. He got some good hits in back then. I didn’t know he was so . . . little.”

Peter stuck out his lower lip. “I am  _ not  _ little.” 

“But you’re not as big as Cap here,” Tony pointed out. He stood up, offering Peter his hand. “Do you think you can stand?” 

“My legs feel like jello,” Peter admitted. “But I can try.”

“Nonsense!” Thor boomed. “We are going back to Earth and you can learn to walk again there, Spider-Child.” 

Out of everything Peter had been called, that had to be the worst. “It’s Spider- _ Man.”  _ He was trying not to stare in shock at the literal God in front of him, but it was a little hard. He had never met Thor - he hadn’t been in Germany when Peter went with Mr. Stark to help stop Captain America. 

“If you say so,” Thor replied, gripping his axe firmly in his hand. “I am sick of this planet and would like to leave.” 

“I think we can all agree,” Steve said.

“Yeah, I never want to come back here, so if we can head out . . . That would be ideal,” Tony said, helping Peter get to his feet. He let the kid lean on him for support, which caused images to flash through his mind that he wished he could erase. 

“Everyone gather around,” Thor announced. “Next stop, Earth.”

“We are going to stay behind,” Starlord said. “Earth isn’t . . . Where we belong.” 

“How will you get out of here?” Steve asked. “There aren’t any working ships.” 

Starlord shrugged. “We’ll figure it out. Seems like we have plenty of time now.” He cast a glance towards Thanos’s lifeless body. 

“You’re sure?” Steve persisted. 

“We’re sure,” Starlord replied.

Peter could help but follow Starlord’s glance at Thanos. He had never seen a dead body before. Not in person. And not mangled like  _ that.  _

“Ah, shit,” Tony muttered. “I wasn’t thinking about that.” He saw where Peter was looking. Why didn’t he think to place the body elsewhere? “I’m sorry, kid.”

Peter shook his head. “No, I’m sorry.”

“What for?” Tony asked. If he had the option to never have to hear those words escape from peter’s mouth ever again, he would take it in a heartbeat. To this day, he still didn’t know why Peter apologized to him so many times before he disappeared, and he didn’t think he would ever have the courage to ask. 

Peter sighed. “Just for . . . it all. I know I like to think I’m not a kid or whatever, but . . . I am. And you’re an adult. Who actually knows what’s best for me and I never listen and . . . look what it did.” 

“This isn’t on you, kid. It’s on me.”

“No,” Steve interrupted, clearly eavesdropping on their conversation. “It’s Thanos and Thanos’s fault only. It’s not yours, Tony. And it’s definitely not yours, Peter. You’re, what, how old? Fifteen? Sixteen? I remember what it was like being that age, and being rebellious and stubborn is part of growing up. From what I heard, you did good. And even if you weren’t here with Tony, you would have ended up in that Soul Stone anyway. But you contributed here. You were useful. You fought in a war that could have ended much worse than it did. I’ve had my fair share of war, and trust me, this was the worst one yet. And to see what’s on the other side of it . . . That takes guts, kid. And a lot of them.” 

Peter didn’t know what to say. One, because it was Captain freaking America, and, two, he didn’t really want to reminisce about this war just yet. He felt queasy just thinking about it. 

“As much as I would love to chat about how Thanos screwed over all our lives, I really want to get back to my kids,” Clint said. “Now that Tony got his back, I want mine back.”

Peter looked up at Tony. 

“It’s a long story, kid,” Tony sighed.

“Speaking of long,” Peter began, changing the topic, “how long was I . . . gone?” 

Tony pressed his lips into a thin line. “A good few months, kid,” he admitted reluctantly. “I’m sorry. I tried for so long to-”

“It doesn’t matter,” Peter said, cutting him off. “All that matters is that you did. And you succeeded.”

“It wasn’t all me,” Tony said to him. “Even though I like hogging all the credit, the people we should thank are Natasha and Banner. They . . . They were the ones who got you out. I was the one who got us to the point where you came back. The part where you actually did . . . That’s on them.” 

“The Avengers assembled,” Peter mumbled. 

“What was that?” Tony asked, not quite hearing him.

Steve heard him, however, with his enhanced hearing. He offered the kid a smile and a nod, letting him know he acknowledged it. 

“Nothing,” Peter said. “I just . . . Let’s go home. I’m tired.”

“We all are, kid. We all are.”

~*~

Tony never thought he would know what it was like to sleep again. Peacefully, that is. 

Friday, his AI, informed him that he probably was able to sleep uninterrupted due to the fact that he had slept little to nothing these past few months, and now his body was getting the proper rest it needed to function.

After two days of great sleeping, however, Tony thought it was time to begin fixing the aftermath of what Thanos left behind. 

Everyone that had vanished after Thanos snapped his fingers had come back. That included Wanda, Sam, Bucky, and the King of Wakanda - T’Challa. No one was unaccounted for, and that was another weight lifted off of Tony’s shoulders.

When the third night of sleep rolled around, Tony was just getting into bed when he got an unexpected phone call. 

_ “You have an incoming call from May Parker,”  _ Friday announced. 

“Answer it,” Tony said immediately, wide awake and alert. 

“Hello?” May’s voice said through the speakers.

“This is Stark,” Tony replied.

May breathed out a small sigh. “Hey, Mr. Stark. I know it’s only been a few days since . . . whatever the hell went down, but I’m concerned about Peter. And he won’t talk to me and just . . . He mentions you a lot, so I was wondering if maybe you can help?”

“Of course,” Tony said easily. He would do anything for the kid. “What’s going on?”

“He doesn’t sleep too well. Has a lot of nightmares. And he used to eat the whole kitchen and now he barely eats two meals a day. I’m really worried,” May explained. 

The sad part about this was that Tony knew exactly what Peter was going through. And it sucked. Big time. “I will be right over.”

“Are you sure?” May asked. “I was just-”

“I’ll be right over,” Tony repeated, not leaving May to say another word.

~*~

Tony knocked softly on the door to Peters bedroom once May let him inside the apartment. There was no reply on the other side, but he opened the door slowly anyway, wondering if maybe the kid fell asleep after all. That wasn’t the case, however.

Peter sat on his bed, legs pulled to his chest, with his chin resting on his knees. He looked like he hadn’t slept at all these past three days, and didn’t even look up at Tony when he came into his room. 

“Hey, kid,” Tony said quietly, not wanting to ruin the silent atmosphere. He walked over to the bed and sat down beside Peter, looking around at the junk in the kid’s room. “I hear you can’t sleep.”

Peter didn’t say anything, which was a huge change for him. Normally the kid would never stop talking. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Tony offered. Even  _ he  _ didn’t want to talk about it, but he wasn’t the one losing sleep at night. 

“Talking about it makes it real,” Peter said so quietly, Tony almost missed it.

Tony frowned. “I don’t want to be that guy, kid, but it  _ was  _ real. And I’m sorry it was.” This is exactly what Tony tried to protect him from when he ordered Friday to take him home off that ship. It wasn’t that he didn’t want Peter’s help, because he ended up being a big one, but it was always the aftermath that ruined most people. Once it was all over. 

“I’m sorry, too.”

“You have got to stop saying that,” Tony said. “There are plenty of people in this world that need to be sorry and you’re not one of them.”

Peter let out a fake laugh. “If I would have listened to you, I wouldn’t be like this right now.”

“And what’s ‘like this?’” Tony dared asked.

“Too scared to even close my eyes,” Peter answered breathlessly. “Everytime I try, he’s there. If he’s not stabbing you through the gut, he’s pinning me to the ground by my neck. And I can’t breathe either way.”

Tony wasn’t aware that Peter watched him get stabbed by Thanos. He never even saw the kid during that time. 

“I should have listened,” Peter said. “But it’s too late now to have regrets.”

“My life is built on regrets, kid,” Tony said, bumping his shoulder. “I know it sucks. Trust me, I understand how you’re feeling. But you need to know that you’re not the only one who is haunted by this. We all will be. Forever. It won’t go away, but it will get easier over time. As long as you let the people around you help you.”

Peter finally glanced up at Tony. “How long did it take you to figure that out for yourself?” 

“Way longer than I’ll ever admit to anyone other than you, so don’t go around repeating that, got it?” 

Despite himself, Peter cracked a smile. “I just . . . I’m so tired, Mr. Stark. I want to go to bed but I  _ can’t.”  _ He choked on a sob. “I don’t want to see these things anymore. Please just make it stop.” 

Tony closed his eyes, thinking. The only thing he could do was sedate the kid, but even then, his metabolism would burn right through it and be ineffective. “Do you think it would help if I stayed here? While you slept, I mean.” 

Peter shrugged. “I dunno.” 

“Well, you know I’m here now, so maybe when you sleep, you won’t see me in your dreams.” He refrained from pointing out the specific scene Peter kept seeing of him being stabbed by his own weapon. 

“Maybe,” Peter hummed.

“Why don’t you try it?” Tony suggested. “And if that doesn’t work, we will try something else, okay?” 

Peter let out a shaky breath. “Okay.”

“It’s a long road, kid. But we just have to take it one step at a time.” He got up and sat in the chair at Peter’s desk. 

“I do have bunk beds, Mr. Stark,” Peter said. “You can have the top bunk.” 

Tony scoffed. “That’s every middle aged man’s dream,” he said flatly. “A slumber party with a teeanger.”

Peter smiled at that. “It’s still a bed.” 

“I won’t be sleeping tonight, kid. Someone’s got to keep a lookout for you.” 

Peter rested his head on his pillow. “Who is going to keep a lookout for you?” he asked with a yawn. 

“If I ever need a lookout,” Tony said, “I’ll make sure it’s you.” Because, truthfully, Peter is someone Tony would want to have in his corner. He trusted very few and very little in this world, but Peter was the one exception to that. 

“Thanks, Mr. Stark,” Peter mumbled, letting his eyes slip closed.

Tony supposed that those words were far better than the ones Peter usually always repeats. And maybe, just maybe, he wouldn’t have to hear Peter say he’s sorry so much. 

But it’s like he told the kid: One step at a time. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I am aware that child Gamora just vanished and was never heard of again. I didn't know what to do with her, so she just . . . disappeared. I am also aware Dr. Strange is not here, despite disappearing on Titan as well. But I don't care much about him so he's not in this story. I also know it's never explained what they did with the Infinity Stones. Just know they did something with them. 
> 
> Bruce is gone, Natasha is sad, and Steve was reuinited with all those who were lost in Wakanda. This was a Tony centric story, so it's all mostly focused on him and Spider-Kid :)


End file.
